Race relations in the UK took a bit of a step back last week when a 63 year old black man that works with a group attempting to mend relations between minorities and the police was tasered in the face by them on video in Bristol, England. At the time of the incident, he was returning from walking his dog. (Unlike what is the tradition for American police, the dog was not murdered.)
Judah Adunbi, a founding member of an independent advisory group working to improve relations between the police and Afro-Caribbean communities, was dragged through a gate into the street by two police officers and then tasered when he refused to give his name. The unnamed officers had claimed that they thought Adunbi was another person that was wanted for unspecified crimes.
Via the New York Times:
Judah Adunbi was returning home last week when two police officers suddenly confronted him, demanding his name. When he refused to give it, they yanked him outside his gate and shot him with a Taser stun gun.
But Mr. Adunbi was not the wanted suspect whom officers were seeking. He is a 63-year-old black race-relations adviser who has worked to improve ties between police officers and the black people in Bristol, about 120 miles west of London.
Britain’s police watchdog agency announced on Friday that it was opening an investigation into the episode, which was caught on video by a neighbor. The video, which spread rapidly on social media, reignited criticisms against the police over the use of force against blacks.
According to race-relations campaigners and data provided by the Home Office, black people are three times more likely to have a Taser used against them than white people.
The video showed officers telling Mr. Adunbi that they “think” he is wanted. “I’m not telling you. I’ve done no wrong,” he replied. One officer said: “So I have no choice then but to arrest you.”
“Leave me alone and let me go among my business,” Mr. Adunbi said, trying to bat them away. As he tried to get to his home through a gate, the officers dragged him outside into the street and fired their stun gun. One of the officers later told the neighbor, Tom Cherry: “He was trying to fight us.”
Speaking to The Guardian about the episode, Mr. Adunbi, a founding member of an independent advisory group working to improve relations between the police and Afro-Caribbean community, said, “At first, you don’t accuse someone of being someone else. You ask questions. The first thing they should have done is come to me in a polite manner. The way they approached me, they were accusing me. That is wrong…”
Describing the Taser’s impact, Mr. Adunbi said, “I heard this sound and felt something hit me below the lip. I collapsed on the ground. I was paralyzed. I couldn’t speak or move and didn’t have any strength in me. She then told me to get up.
“I knew if she fired again it would have killed me. They tried to lift me off the ground. They raised me up and leaned me up against a garage, but I started to slide down. It’s a grace of God that I’m still alive. She has done a very terrible thing to me.”
Chief Superintendent Reilly said that the community was “going to have concerns” and that police would “really like to answer those.”
Sara Ogilvie, policy officer at Liberty, a human rights advocacy group, told the media that “Incidents like this are deeply disturbing. Warm words about working with communities mean nothing if officers aren’t willing to practice what they preach.”
So, this would probably be the appropriate time to say #NotTheOnion. The reason you know this isn’t Fake Newz is because you just can’t make this kinda shit up.
BBC News Coverage
This footage shows the moment a black race-relations worker was tasered in #Bristol after being mistaken for a wanted man. pic.twitter.com/ORBst2EEHS
— ITV News WestCountry (@itvwestcountry) January 19, 2017
British Race Relations Board Member Tasered in the Face by English Police is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights
